BY RHEA MANILA SANTOS

As the scenes heat up in her new teleserye Huwag Ka Lang Mawawala, KC Concepcion admitted the most memorable scenes they have shot so far have been her sampalan scenes with Judy Ann Santos. “We did an intense scene where I literally saw stars after Ate Juday slapped me. That’s when I saw and realized how dedicated and committed Ate Juday is to her craft. It would really be embarrassing if I took would not give my 100% in this project,” she said. KC admitted it was the first time anyone had ever slapped her—even in real life. “Parang wala naman akong maalala. Si Ate Juday lang ang star ng buhay ko pagdating sa samapalan (laughs),” she said.

KC shared that her character not only has confrontations with Anessa (played by Juday) but with her onscreen love Eros (played by Sam Milby) as well. KC said she was already aware that Juday does not like to fake slapping scenes. “Pati pag hinahawakan ni Eros si Alexis. Karinyo brutal din kasi yung mga nakapaligid kay Alexis pero si Ate Juday talaga lagi niya sinasabi na hindi niya kaya i-fake. She really does it kasi she’s in the moment when we do the scenes. So obviously for the first time in my work her since I got into mainstream showbiz, never ko naman din inisip na magiging actress or magagampanan ko yung ganito ka-challenging na role because I really became known as a commercial model and as a host so it’s a big part and napaka-generous ni ate Juday, tinuturuan niya kami sometimes kapag nasa eksena. And kapag nanampal siya ng ganun kasakit at ganun kalakas, talagang mari-realize mo na totoo ito, this is the real thing. This is somebody na seasoned actress na napakarami ng teleseryeng ginawa, napakarami na ring artistang nasampal. So it’s an honor to be slapped by Ms. Judy Ann (laughs). Parang baptism of fire ko na yun siguro. Konti lang makakapagsabi nun so I’m proud,” she admitted.

The 28-year-old actress said she would not be bothered by any criticisms she gets from portraying Alexis in the series. “Sanay na sanay na ako diyan. Okay na ako. Nasanay na ako siguro. Nasanay na talaga ako,” she admitted. When it comes to the dramatic scenes, KC said she really tried to prove she was worthy of her role in the series. “Yung takot ko kina Direk Jerry (Sineneng), kina direk Tots (Sanchez). Nakakahiya kasi kung mag-take two, baka masigawan ako (laughs),” she joked.

KC said she is lucky to already have a close relationship with Juday even before the series started taping last year. “Hindi lang because of the project eh, parang buntis pa lang ata siya kay Lucho or before that, parang close na kami,” she added.